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Science Fiction Short Story from the 80s called "Night of the Millennium"



I am trying to find a short story from a science fiction collection that I think I read around 1981 from my school library. I think it was called "Night of the Millennium" and it was about a couple of boys who, during the celebration of the millennium end up in some adventure involving someone with "an illegal laser pistol" and at the end it turns out his gym teacher is a member of some secret space program and the main character has been recruited to join this program. Does this sound at all familiar? Thanks so much in advance - this is killing me!



Answer



"Night of the Millennium" by Edward D. Hoch?



As the world prepares to celebrate the onset of the 2000s, a young man faces decisions about his career choice. As he tries to decide between becoming a laser surgeon like his father or a high-paying, high-profile job in communication engineering. The man who is trying to recruit him gets caught up in a plot to cause a revolt at the millennium celebrations and Tommy (the young man) comes to his rescue....this causes Tommy to think about a third career choice.



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